Your Name Would Be the Last Word on My Lips
by captainhillshipper
Summary: Maria will come for them, they just have to be patient. (Gads, I hate writing summaries.) Story #1 for Captain Hill Week. A/U


**A/N: News for those strong enough to have resisted the mind-numbingly time-wasting addiction that is tumblr, this is Captain Hill week. Created and hosted by fuckyeahcaptainhill dot tumblr dot com. They will be, at the very least, reblogging all the stories so go to their tumblr for more. Or you can search the tags "Captain Hill" or "chweek" at tumblr.**

**There are two prompts daily, one can either write two, choose one, or combine the two. I combined the two. They are "Holding out For a Hero," song prompt, and "miscalculation."**

**Today's story takes place within my usual Captain Hill headverse. Therefore, as always, entirely A/U. I had actually been struggling with how to bring this aspect of Steve's story into play within my story arc. But as I was considering how to put Steve into a situation where Maria was going to rescue him, this is what formed.**

**Please R&R.**

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><p>Steve had chuckled nervously when Tony had explained how to get the small device to work.<p>

_"You just have to get close enough to do some slight damage to the arm, stick this little bugger on it, and it should short circuit the thing."_

_"Close enough?" Maria had asked._

_Steve could hear the strain in her voice though he was certain no one else could._

_"Bruce and I will be running interference," Tony reminded him. "If it comes down to it, one of us can help."_

_"No," Steve interrupted._

_His voice was firm, but not angry. Steve knew he had to be the one to do this. Natasha and Clint…_

'No, don't think about Clint right now,' he told himself as he dodged another of Bucky's hits.

Steve rolled and kicked up his feet to hit Bucky in the gut. The Winter Soldier stumbled back a little, but it was enough time for Steve to get back on his feet and take another swing at Bucky. He'd known this was going to be difficult, but they'd been at this for fifteen minutes at least and Steve was beginning to wonder if he shouldn't call Tony.

No, he had to stay focused on his objective. Bucky had a vague notion of who Steve was, maybe not the right notion, but he'd called Steve "punk" once and that word wasn't one Steve thought would be associated with The Winter Soldier, so it gave him hope.

Bucky came at Steve again and took a swing at him with his mechanical arm. A split second before the arm came down on Steve's shield, he turned the shield sideways, hoping if Bucky hit the side with his arm, it might cause some damage. It might have, but Steve didn't know right away because the impact knocked him back against the wall.

When Steve focused on the spot his shield made contact with Bucky's arm, he could see there was, indeed, a small fissure. Buoyed by hope, Steve ran forward, slipping the small round interrupter from his glove as he did so. He leapt on Bucky and slammed the small device into the hole then prayed for it to work.

Bucky threw Steve off, but Steve landed on his feet. As his old friend turned to move in for another attack, Steve feared nothing had happened. He only had the one. Tony had been sure it would work if used correctly and Steve was almost to the point where he wondered if he'd got it into the arm when Bucky stopped mid-stride. Steve held his breath as he watched Bucky look at his metal arm. Steve wasn't sure exactly what Bucky was feeling. Tony said it would just be electrical impulses and Bucky didn't seem to be in any pain, only confused.

"Stark," Steve spoke into the comm. "I think it's working."

He waited a moment then repeated his call but was met with the same silence. He wondered if the comm had been damaged in the fight as he kept a wary eye on Bucky who appeared to be more disoriented. Steve switched over to the private comm to contact Maria, but was met with the same silence. He certainly hoped it was the comm.

Steve was surprised by Bucky stumbling forward. He braced himself, concerned The Winter Soldier might have found a way to fight the effects of the device. But shortly, Bucky fell to his knees, shaking his head and swatting his ear as if attempting to stop a buzzing in his head. That matched what Tony had described. Steve tried the comm again but still heard no reply.

In less than five minutes, The Winter Soldier lay at Steve's feet and Steve sighed in relief. The most difficult part was over. He knelt down and checked for a pulse. It was still strong. Tony had assured him it wouldn't do any permanent damage to anything but the arm. Steve pulled him up to carry out of the building.

The closer Steve walked to the door, the more he noticed the silence. He wondered if Ironman and The Hulk had been able to neutralize Bucky's Red Room and ex-KGB handlers. Then he thought nothing at all.

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><p>Steve was aware of a pressure somewhere on his body, maybe his entire body, he really wasn't sure. He wanted to push it off, but he couldn't move his arms. He tried to concentrate on the source of the pressure, if it was hard or soft, if it truly was on his entire body. Perhaps it was only on his head, crushing his skull. The pain was becoming unbearable and he almost wished it would be done with. That was certainly something Steve knew he couldn't live through, but anything to stop this pain.<p>

"Maria," he called quietly.

He only wanted to see her once more, hear her voice once more. And Hope, he couldn't leave this earth without holding her in his arms or hearing her laughter.

He forced his eyes open and shoved the thought of the pain as far away as he could in his mind. The space he was in was dimly lit. At first it was difficult to really make out any shapes or where was the source of light. He listened for sounds and was certain he heard someone else breathing not too far from him. Steve tried to recall who it could be. Had he been here with someone? Where was here?

Shortly, his pain refused to be ignored and he couldn't think of much at all. He tried to focus on the source of light. That, he was certain, was the way out. Out of what, however, he was uncertain. The light looked to be coming from his left. It was sunlight, which encouraged him. It was most likely the way out.

Next he tried to find the location of the other person. He could still hear him or her breathing. The person was not too far from Steve's feet, but Steve didn't even attempt to move his head and look. He wanted to figure out who the other person was, though. Steve tried calling out, but there was no response. Steve wasn't sure if the other person could even hear him, his voice was quiet and weak.

Slowly, his eyes began to regain their ability to focus and Steve could see he and the other person were buried under concrete rubble. He closed his eyes again and tried to recall if it was a building or a bridge. He'd been fighting someone, Steve thought as flashes of battle, (Was it a battle?) flashed through his mind.

Maria, his mind grabbed onto the name like a drowning man to a rope thrown out in a rescue attempt. Why it came now, he wasn't sure, wasn't sure he wanted to know. He called out her name to the other person, hoping he was wrong. Still, there was no response. Steve's head was aching again, or maybe he'd just become accustomed to the pain and now it was getting worse. He really couldn't remember.

Steve started as he heard the other person grunt. It sounded like a man. Relief flooded over him. It wasn't Maria. Now he just had to figure out what he'd been doing, why he was here with this man. He called out to him again, but was met with only a slight noise and a faint word that sounded somewhat Russian. The memories poured into Steve's mind quickly as if a dam had been opened.

"Bucky," he called.

There was no response, but Steve could still hear breathing. He wasn't sure how long they'd been here, or why the building had come down on them. If they could, Steve knew the team would try to get to him. They knew his basic location. He wasn't sure what type of medical care either of them needed. It was apparent that Bucky had at least something akin to the serum in him, but Steve wasn't sure how well the healing factor worked. The serum was different, Steve thought, or hoped.

_"From what you've told me about Bucky, Steve, I don't see how his behavior could be related to the serum in the way Dr. Erskine described."_

Maria's voice filled Steve's mind as he tried to hold on to hope that he could reach Bucky. He couldn't think of an alternative, not now that there was a chance he would have him back. It was so much more than he'd ever hoped.

"Buck, you missed my wedding," Steve said with half a hope he would rouse his friend and half that he would keep himself conscious.

"I married the most beautiful woman," he said. "You're gonna be jealous when you meet her."

Steve tried to laugh but the pain in his chest was worse as a result.

"She's just amazing," he continued. "Of course, right about now you'd say 'she'd have to be to put up with you, punk.'"

Steve paused, trying to recall Bucky's voice. He hadn't really heard it much since they'd found him.

"And I'm a dad," he told Bucky. "We had a baby girl almost two years ago. She."

Steve stopped, sudden fear tightening his chest. He had worked through most of the trauma, but sometimes things would still bring up the pain.

"She looks just like me," he whispered. "She even acts like me. Not sure who I should feel more sorry for, her or her mom."

Steve coughed and tried to turn his head, but even the little he could didn't help.

"Her name's Maria, my wife's name," he told Bucky. "Our daughter is Hope. They're, well, they're everything.

"I met Maria a few months after I woke up here, which is a really long, and somewhat boring story," he said. "The short of it is that I thought you were dead."

Steve stopped as emotion clogged his throat. He had tried not to think about that moment.

"I'm so sorry," he continued. "If I'd known there was even the smallest chance that you were alive, you know I'd have come for you, right?"

He was silent after that for a while as he tried to pull his thoughts together.

"I crashed a plane, that's the long story," he finally spoke again after he heard Bucky make a little noise. "Or maybe the short one. I don't know, my head feels a little weird right now."

He opened his eyes and he wasn't sure if he'd blacked out or only closed them for a moment. He thought the light had shifted some, as if the sun was now setting.

"Bucky?" he called out, and to his relief he received a rather loud grunt in reply.

He called again, but heard nothing more than breathing.

"Maria will be here soon," he said, though where the thought came from he wasn't sure. Tony and Bruce had been with him and Maria had been running the operations end. "She'll have a team, they'll get us out."

Steve paused, and tried to remember what had happened earlier.

"Did I tell you about Maria?" he asked.

Everything was fuzzy in his mind. He was no longer sure what was dream and what was real. He'd hit his head pretty hard, he assumed now.

"Yeah, she's my wife," Steve said. "So I don't want you getting any ideas when you see her."

He chuckled and the pain caused him to cough again..

"She's amazing so be prepared to be jealous," Steve told him. "Remember all those dames you used to set me up with? All the ones you used to go out with, which were probably ones you'd set me up with before."

Steve stopped and smiled at the memory, it was so clear in his mind now.

"You had the wrong idea," Steve said. "But then, I suppose when you met Peggy, you figured that out.

"Maria, she's strong, like Peggy, but she's not really exactly like Peggy, but, yeah, I have a type, I guess you'd say. And you always got it wrong when you were setting me up," Steve laughed more strongly now and was relieved when he didn't cough as he breathed deeply.

"I can't wait for you to meet her, and, did I tell you, I have a daughter," he said, still unsure what he'd said earlier.

"She's beautiful. Her name's Hope. She's almost two."

"They're my life, Buck, my whole world. I don't know what I did to deserve them," Steve paused again though this time it was because he was certain he'd finally heard something besides Bucky's breathing.

He strained to listen. It sounded like some type of machinery.

"Hear that?" he said to Bucky. "I told you she'd send someone."

He wished his comm was working so he could find out what was going on. The noise still sounded far off. He wondered if they knew where he and Bucky were buried in the rubble or were they just going to clear all the rubble and hope to find them. Shortly he felt himself drifting off again so he started to talk to Bucky.

"Hope loves the water," he said. "She could sit in the bath for hours, she could stay at the seaside all day.

"Hey, Buck, I have a beach house," Steve told him. "Can you believe it? You'll have to come down and stay with us.

"Oh, and remember Howard?" he asked, expecting no reply again. "He got married and they had a kid named Tony. He's a genius too, only he still hasn't invented those flying cars his dad always promised. Must be the most disappointing thing about the 21st Century."

Steve stopped and strained to hear the noises again. He was certain they were louder this time and he was almost sure he could hear metal against concrete.

"She'll be here pretty soon," he assured Bucky and was rewarded with another grunt. "Maria, I mean."

He felt Bucky shift near his feet.

"Hold on," he said. "I'm not sure if we should move, it might bring everything down on us."

Bucky was still again and after several moments Steve went on.

"I couldn't go back to Brooklyn," he explained. "So we got a place on Long Island. It's got a yard and in the summer we set up this above ground pool. Hope would spend all day in there if we'd let her. Tony, that's Stark's kid, calls her 'Aquagirl.' That's a comic book character. Anyway, Hope's just amazing. She never lets anything get her down, she was born kinda early."

Steve's voice choked off as he fought back the memories. It was still difficult to think about sometimes, maybe more now because he was in actual pain that the serum didn't seem to be doing anything to help.

"The doctors said she would have learning disabilities, and she wouldn't walk for a long time, she might never talk, I was so afraid she'd really be like me, you know, have all the same health problems and stuff. She's a fighter and, you'd think that was like me, but it's like her mom, too."

Steve paused and closed his eyes for a moment. He just wanted to think about Maria, everything about her, and try to picture in his mind.

"I have to see Maria again, Buck, we have to get out of here," he whispered.

He felt Bucky shift again and tried to dissuade him but Bucky didn't stop. The rubble shifted and dirt and dust fell into Steve's face. He tried to spit out what had fallen into his mouth but he didn't seem to have enough saliva to do so.

Shortly he heard excited voices and the sound of a helicopter, maybe. He wasn't certain about the latter, but he definitely heard voices. Tony was calling for him. He tried to answer but his mouth was too full of dirt. He turned his head to the side and tried again to spit it out.

The rubble over Bucky and himself began to shift, though not as drastically as when Bucky had moved earlier. The voices grew louder and more excited. Steve glanced down and he could see that Bucky had stuck his arm up through an opening. The rescue team must have seen it because they were now concentrating their efforts near them, from the sounds of things.

Finally, a light shone on Steve's face, then someone dropped down into the space next to him. He felt a cool, slender hand on his cheek and smiled when he heard Maria say his name.

Steve tried to stand after they had pulled the largest chunk of concrete off his legs, but he still wasn't mended entirely and Maria chastised him for doing too much too soon to which he retorted that she would know all about that wouldn't she.

He watched as Tony essentially disarmed Bucky by shooting a syringe loaded with pentobarbitol into the man's neck. They planned to keep Bucky heavily sedated until they could start the deprogramming. Then the medical staff turned their attention to helping Steve out of the rubble. They placed him on a stretcher and Stark pulled him up like a rescue helicopter would, then deposited him near the quinjet. Maria joined him after he was moved inside and sat next to him as the medics administered first aid, which most consisted of checking his cuts and getting an iv into him to rehydrate him.

"He was trying to save us," he told Maria when the medics retreated. "I told him I had to see you again and he tried to get your attention."

"I know," she interrupted him. "I heard."

"What?" Steve was confused. "The comm was busted."

"Only at your end," she smiled.

"Oh," he said. "So you heard?"

"Everything," she nodded, then smiled. "I'm very fortunate to be your wife."

She leaned over and brushed her lips against his parched ones. When she pulled away she told him to lay back down and get some rest.

"I think he'll be OK," Maria said.

Steve nodded and hoped the same as he allowed himself to drift off to sleep.


End file.
